Lines, such as ropes of various sizes and kinds have been utilized for many years, and many are of similar design and appearance, and are generally formed by means of twisting strands of fibrous materials, or groups of strands together. However, such strands do not readily maintain their twisted-together relationships and have a tendency to untwist unless they are otherwise secured together and thus restrained in their twisted relationship.
To overcome this problem, various means have been employed to produce ropes with finished ends. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,109,717, there is showing a technique for forming a twisted belt, which starts by providing an endless loop and twisting it into a cable. Thereafter, the ends of the cable are patched together and then twisted.
As another example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,805,540 there is disclosed a technique where the ends of the rope are tied together prior to twisting into a cable or belt. From the foregoing, it should be clear that many methods of making frayless ropes require that the free ends of the strands forming the rope be connected together by some fastening means, or otherwise tied together, which technique is usually time consuming and requires special manufacturing processes.
As another example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,935,838, there is disclosed a method of making bands of yarn, wherein a pair of strands of yarn are twisted individually at one end, and the opposite end is also twisted. The twisted strands are then secured together to prevent unraveling by means of a band hook which is forced together to secure the twisted ends together.
Therefore, it would be highly desirable to have a new and improved method and apparatus for making a frayless line, which has both of its ends finished and which would not required the use of fasteners or tying techniques so as to reduce manufacturing costs.